President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food security.
Briefing newsmen on the declaration, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake, said the aim was to promote agro-business, and ensure availability and affordability of produce.
One of the immediate results of the fuel subsidy removal was the high cost of food items and their value chains.
Alake stated that Considering the fact that food and water are most essential to life after air, the President has now included matters partaking to their availability and affordability within the purview of the National Security Council.
He therefore said as an immediate intervention, fertilizer and grains would be distributed to farmers and households free of charge.
Mr. Alake said to encourage all-year-round agriculture activities, Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources would work together to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands.
He said the administration would collaborate with mechanisation companies to clear more forests for farming, deploy concessionary capital to the agriculture sector, and beat down freight charges.
Also to be effected is the establishment of ranches in States, where the Federal Government would buy land to discourage open grazing, which will in turn prevent farmer-herder clashes, and promote healthy animal husbandry.
Bello Wakili
